This smoker was built at the
Gates Blacksmith Shop. The smoker started out as a flat piece
of steel. The steel was bent into a circle and welded.
The ends were welded on to make a barrel 24 inches by 4 feet.
Kaowool was used as the insulation for the firebox. This
project is finished and has been a great addition to our BBQ
collection.

Since it was finished, it has been
used to capacity every week. It has actually become too
small. June 7, 2008, we brought home Denali. See below
for pictures and info.

Bringing Home Denali

The Mammoth Dinosaur Smoker

Denali is 4 ft. in
diameter & 12 ft. long. It was built from an old boiler from
1942. It lived on the east coast most of its life. It was used
for a restaurant. It moved to Cabazon, California a few years ago to
start Spanky's BBQ. The business failed and the smoker was put up
for sale. We went in halves on this with a friend. It had to
have a name that fit its history. So we named it Denali after
Gumby's dinosaur. It takes 80 lbs. of coal to get it up to cooking
temperature.

This is the counter weight for the
door. It weighs well over 100 lbs.

We had to slide it down the sidewalk
(slide sounds so much better than drag or scrape, doesn't it?)

It's progressing nicely. (with the help
of a 1 ton truck and 40 feet of chain.)

Since it wasn't going to turn the corner,
we unbolted the handrail and set it aside.

After several attempts, we were able to
lift it using the crane. The crane will lift 3400 lbs and this thing was
near its limit.

We had to move it over to the trailer for transport. Here I
am just holding it from swinging on the way over. The dinosaurs seemed
unconcerned about the goings on.

Here we are setting it on the trailer.

On the trailer ready for tie down.

Saying goodbye to its old neighbors.

Being offloaded in its new home.

Denali's first 4th of July in its new
home. It was filled to capacity.